IDUKKI: A worker from Tamil Nadu died due to suffocation when he entered a manhole to clean a septic tank of a hotel in Kattappana in the hill district of Idukki on September 30. Two other workers who went to rescue him also collapsed, police said on Wednesday.

Of the deceased, one hailed from Cumbum in Theni district and two from Gudalur in Nilgiris district, they said.

One labourer got trapped inside the manhole while cleaning the tank on Tuesday night and two others went to rescue him. But when there was no response from them, the fellow workers alerted the local people, who in turn informed police and fire personnel.

"As the manhole was small, the rescuers could not enter it. A portion of the tank was broken to launch the rescue mission," a local man told television channels.

The three men were rescued and rushed to hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead, police said.